1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrophotographic image-forming apparatuses, and particularly relates to a removing member for removing toner (developer) deposited on a transfer roller for transferring a toner image from an image-bearing member to a recording material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic image-forming apparatuses have recently presented the problem of toner deposited on the backside of a recording material with increasing demand for higher print quality.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-122447, for example, discloses a blade disposed in contact with a transfer roller to remove toner deposited on the backside of a recording material.
As this blade rubs against the transfer roller, however, the blade undesirably wears the roller and shortens the lifespan thereof.
FIG. 7 illustrates a process for electrostatically removing toner to avoid the above problem. In FIG. 7, a fur brush roller 18a is biased to recover toner deposited on a transfer roller 11 for transferring a toner image from an intermediate transfer belt (image-bearing member) 6 to a recording material S. A bias roller 19 in turn electrostatically recovers the toner from the fur brush roller 18a. Finally, a blade 20 removes the toner from the bias roller 19. This process requires a larger current flowing between the fur brush roller 18a and the transfer roller 11 to stably remove the toner.
Increasing the bias voltage applied to the fur brush roller 18a, however, induces discharge between the fur brush roller 18a and the intermediate transfer belt 6. The discharge causes the retransfer of the toner from the fur brush roller 18a to the transfer roller 11 and thus results in defective cleaning. On the other hand, increasing the diameter of the fur brush roller 18a can widen the contact area between the fur brush roller 18a and the transfer roller 11, although this approach undesirably increases the size of the apparatus.